Chapter 284
‘Bubble bubble bubble!’
“……!”
Suddenly, water rushed into her nose and mouth.
Eyes wide open, Ar thrashed wildly.
“Pwah! Cough! Cough!”
Barely managing to surface, Ar burst into a coughing fit.
“Is everyone okay?!”
A panicked voice called from the side.
Turning her head, she saw Carr poking his face out of the water.
“I-I’m okay!”
Eiran’s frantic voice came through.
“Let’s get out of the water first!”
With those words, Carr activated [Fly Magic].
Eiran also floated up using magic.
Ar used [Aura Step] to stand atop the water.
The three of them escaped the water in their own way and began drying themselves.
“What about the black rabbit, Seiren’s rep, and that weird-talking dwarf?”
‘Shake shake shake—!’
Shaking her body to get the water off, Ar asked. Eiran, wringing out her soaked uniform, answered.
“I-I don’t see them anywhere nearby…”
Frantically looking around, Eiran’s expression grew serious.
“W-We really did enter Master Dweno’s [Hero Record], right?”
“Yeah. The message definitely said so.”
Ar’s expression was tense.
Carr opened his subspace.
“Here, dry off with this. Your current appearance is a bit too much for a teenage boy.”
As Carr pointed out, Ar and Eiran’s soaked uniforms clung to their bodies, outlining their figures.
Eiran blushed and took the towel Carr offered.
“Hmph, does my appearance make your heart race?”
“Uh, sure.”
“That flat reaction is just rude!”
Ar bared her fangs and raised her claws, glaring—but Carr couldn’t help it.
Compared to Eiran, Ar was sadly lacking in curves.
He handed her a towel too, despite her hissing.
“Wow, this towel’s amazing! Just wiping with it makes me feel completely dry!”
Eiran marveled at how the towel absorbed water like magic.
Seeing how quickly Eiran dried off, Ar tried it herself and was just as impressed.
“Hmph, I made those myself. Single-use only. They’re really popular with the girls at school.”
Especially in Noble, where many of the girls came from noble families, Carr’s towels were a hit.
“But anyway, we need to regroup with Leo, Lunia, and Driana…”
Getting back on track, Carr glanced up at the sky—and his expression hardened.
Not just Carr.
Eiran, too, looked pale.
Above them was a gray sky—one that didn’t exist in the current era.
Carr swallowed hard.
Of course, they were inside Dweno’s [Hero Record].
‘The era we’re in now… is the Era of Genesis.’
The era spoken of in countless books.
A time they’d heard described many times by the Heroes who had conquered the Hero’s World.
So they thought they were prepared.
But seeing the ashen sky with their own eyes was enough to stir primal fear in Carr.
‘This… is the sign of a world heading toward destruction.’
Many heroes had left their names in history.
And only those chosen were able to see this sight.
It was as if the sky itself was speaking—
‘You’re not ready yet.’
Even Eiran shrank back as if the air had drained her spirit.
“It’s scary… that sky.”
Even Ar, who’d experienced this before, muttered nervously.
“Let’s check the mission objective first.”
Ar spoke calmly.
The other two nodded and opened their system windows to check the objective.
[Mission Objective: —]
“Gah!”
Carr let out a shriek at the message that appeared before them.
The objective field was blank.
Even for students with prior Hero’s World experience, this was a first.
“Something’s wrong… Could this be a [Hero Dungeon]?”
Ar’s face grew serious.
The mission objective was the core of any Hero’s World.
Normally, everything revolved around completing it—but now, it was blank.
“Now that you mention it, even the entrance was weird.”
The message had confirmed it was Dweno’s world—but didn’t mention the event.
“Let’s start investigating.”
“Yeah.”
They quickly shifted focus to what they could do.
Just as they were about to move—
‘Fwoosh fwoosh fwoosh!’
“……!”
Armed figures quickly surrounded them.
Reacting instantly, all three dropped into combat stances.
“They’re suspicious!”
“Infiltrating the Spirit Lake—identify yourselves!”
“Are you Tartarus spies?!”
Seeing the variety of races surrounding them with hostility, the trio was stunned.
‘Considering it’s the Era of Genesis, this kind of reaction is expected.’
Carr quickly assessed the situation, relaxed his guard, and raised both hands.
“Wait, we’re not suspicious.”
“Y-Yeah! We just got lost, that’s all!”
Eiran added timidly.
“Don’t lie! This is the city’s water source! It’s under strict surveillance—getting lost here is impossible!”
The leader, a human, raised his voice.
Carr gave a strained smile.
“We should probably go along with them for now.”
“I think so too.”
“No helping it… If we get a chance, we can escape.”
Just as the three were about to surrender—
“Lower your weapons. They’re not Tartarus spies.”
A gentle voice came from behind.
Carr and Eiran looked confused.
But Ar’s ears perked up.
She’d heard that voice before.
The soldiers parted, and a beastkin youth appeared.
He had wild white hair and piercing golden eyes.
Carr and Eiran trembled.
They knew him all too well.
One of the Great Heroes who saved the world.
‘The Hero… Arron!’
‘Why is the Hero appearing in Master Dweno’s world?!’
The legendary figure who had won an impossible battle—the symbol of courage—was standing right in front of them.
As Carr and Eiran trembled in awe—
‘Dash—!’
Ar shot forward at incredible speed.
Before anyone could react—
“Arron! It’s really Arron!”
“Eeep?!”
Arron’s gallant expression twisted into terror.
Not just Arron.
The surrounding guards, too, suddenly looked horrified.
Because Ar’s eyes had gone completely feral.
“You’re so cool! Huff! Huff! I respect you so much! Haaah! Haaah!”
“Get off meee!”
Terrified, Arron screamed as Ar clung tightly to his leg.
“The suspicious ones are threatening Arron!”
“Restrain them!”
“They’re definitely Tartarus spies after all!”
“Arrest them!”
In an instant, chaos erupted.
And so, thanks to Ar’s starstruck frenzy, all three were arrested.
—
‘Fwoooosh—!’
The world burned.
The surrounding area was engulfed in flames.
There stood Lunia and Driana.
“Are you okay?”
“I have high fire resistance, despite how I look.”
“Great, you’re back to that weird tone again.”
Lunia narrowed her eyes.
Even in a place where most people couldn’t even stand, they remained calm.
As someone from House Lunda—born with the flame of the Phoenix—Lunia was unaffected by this level of fire.
Driana, too, though no longer pursuing the smith’s path, had grown up around fire and was naturally resistant.
The flames posed no threat to either of them.
“But what is this flame?”
“…It’s [Spirit Flame], I think.”
Lunia narrowed her eyes as she scanned the area.
‘And not just any spirit. This is a [Greater Spirit]-level flame.’
Though she was talented in [Beast Summoning], Lunia also had a deep understanding of Spirit Arts—and she recognized it easily.
‘I also sense Phoenix energy…’
There was a familiar trace lingering in the flames. Lunia crossed her arms.
‘What kind of space is this?’
As she puzzled it out—
‘Boom—! Boom—!’
The ground rumbled beneath them.
Lunia and Driana froze.
‘Whirr—!’
“A golem?”
A massive golem emerged from the flames.
Covered in fire, the [Fire Golem] drew a smile from Lunia.
“A guardian, huh?”
“Hmph. Looks like we need to defeat it to move on.”
Golems were often used as guardians of territories.
As such, they were extremely powerful and hostile to intruders.
But Lunia and Driana weren’t too worried.
No matter how strong the golem, they were Hero Candidates.
It wasn’t a threat.
Driana, stepping forward, pulled a warhammer from her subspace.
Lunia naturally took the rear position.
Though they’d never fought together before, they fell into formation instinctively.
Lunia, as Seiren’s top second-year student, was no stranger to combat.
Driana, though no longer in the running, was once Damienne’s second-year rep.
Her strength was real.
‘Slide—’
As the two took up battle stances, the golem raised its foot.
‘CRACK—!’
“……!”
‘BOOM!’
In an instant, the golem closed the distance and swatted Driana into the wall.
Lunia’s eyes widened in shock.
‘What the—?! This golem!’
A pinnacle of magical engineering—golems typically moved slowly due to their mass.
But this one far exceeded normal golems.
Just as it turned its attention to Lunia—
‘Clang—!’
Driana blasted out of the wall and slammed her hammer into the golem’s head.
Her eye twitched slightly.
“Impressive. It’s still standing after that hit.”
Lunia whistled, impressed.
Driana adjusted her grip.
“Durability is a dwarf’s specialty.”
Despite her petite and cute appearance, she was incredibly sturdy.
“Tough girl.”
Feeling confident in their frontline, Lunia began gathering mana.
“Lunia El Lunda. I’m going all in.”
“Hm?”
“That golem—it’s made of [Orichalcum].”
Lunia’s face turned to horror.
“You can make golems out of Orichalcum?!”
“Normally, no. But think about whose world this is. Then it’s not so strange.”
“Divine Blacksmith… Master Dweno…”
Lunia groaned.
If it was his craftsmanship, anything was possible.
‘Whirr—!’
The golem began to move again.
Lunia and Driana crouched into their stances.
“Spirited young ladies, aren’t they?”
From behind the golem, Dweno tilted his head.
“If you’ve trespassed into a restricted zone, you must have a reason. Let’s subdue you first.”
The restricted zone of Guardslone.
They had entered the heart of the [Spirit Flame] that powered the city—a place not easily forgiven.
“With three people out of the city, trouble just keeps popping up.”
Dweno sighed and infused the golem with mana.
—
“You. Who are you?”
‘Shing—’
Velkia leapt back with wary eyes.
Leo glanced around.
‘A forest.’
It felt oddly familiar.
‘Right. The forest near Guardslone.’
This was where Velkia used to train—not far from the city.
No signs of others nearby.
‘Judging by her age… she’s probably just about to start fighting for real.’
She must have entered the forest to train alone.
‘Around 17 or 18 years old, huh?’
Having gauged her age, Leo spoke.
“Where are your mentors—Kyle, Luna, and Arron?”
“How do you know they’re my teachers?!”
Velkia’s wariness deepened.
‘Hmm. If it’s not widely known she’s their disciple yet, that means this is before she became famous… So she really is seventeen.’
Leo processed her every word quickly to grasp the situation.
“I get it now. You’re a Tartarus spy, aren’t you?! Planning to kidnap me and threaten my teachers!”
Seeing his overly imaginative disciple again, Leo sighed.
“Who’s currently in Guardslone?”
“You think I’d tell you?! I’ll take you down first!”
Velkia charged without hesitation.
Caution against suspicious strangers was normal in this era.
Even if someone wasn’t a demon, betrayals were common during the Era of Genesis.
Her suspicion was justified.
‘But still—’
‘CLANG—!’
“Huh?”
Leo swatted away her sword and swept her leg.
‘She’s acting all cocky—it’s making my blood boil.’
“Kyah!”
Before she could properly react, Velkia was on the ground—completely subdued.
It all happened in a split second.
“Velkia.”
“Don’t call me by my name so casually!”
Still glaring, Velkia tried to gather mana.
Leo calmly said,
“I came to Guardslone to find Kyle—the Surviving Hero.”
“Why Master Kyle?!”
“I’m an [All-Class] too.”
“…What?”
Velkia froze.
Leo opened his palm.
[Aura], [Mana], and [Spirit Power] swirled together.
Velkia’s eyes widened.
“I wanted to become his student. So I did my research—including on you.”
At this point in time, Velkia understood the importance of being an All-Class.
Her mana trait—‘Pure’—wasn’t publicly known, but Lysinas had told her that Kyle’s power held the key to defeating Erebos.
So she knew how huge it was that another All-Class had appeared.
Staring at the overwhelming energy swirling in Leo’s hand, Velkia spoke.
“I’ll just say one thing.”
She wore a serious expression.
“Master Kyle has a terrible personality. I recommend learning from someone else.”
“…Got it.”
‘Whap!’
“Ow! Why’d you hit me?!”
Giving his snarky disciple a smack on the head, Leo sighed.
‘Honestly, she’s just asking for it.’